| Author | Enid Blyton |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Treyer Evans |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Five Find-Outers |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Methuen |
Publication date | 1954 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Preceded by | The Mystery of Holly Lane |
| Followed by | The Mystery of the Missing Man |
The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage is a 1954 children's mystery novel written by Enid Blyton and illustrated by Treyer Evans. It is the twelfth book in the Five Find-Outers series. [1]
The mystery begins when the newspapers report that a valuable picture has been stolen from an art gallery. The police know the identity of the thieves—the Lorenzos of Tally-Ho Cottage. The Lorenzos eluded capture, but had to leave their poodle, Poppet, at Tally-Ho, though they had engaged an elderly couple, the Larkins, to take care of it. But the Lorenzos wanted to take their poodle with them.
Ern, who was living near Tally-Ho, kept a watch on the grounds to see when the Lorenzos would arrive. He heard noises in the night but slept. In the morning, he informed the Find-Outers about the noises, which he thought were like an airplane or car or motorboat. Upon investigation, the Find-Outers find that the Lorenzos did indeed arrive in a motorboat. Upon further investigation, the Find-Outers find that the Larkins had left when the Lorenzos arrived, and the Lorenzos are disguised as Larkins. The Lorenzos are then arrested. The stolen artwork is found stitched inside a Poppet the poodle's rug.
A. P. L. of the Shipley Times and Express praised the book, writing, "Besides mystery, there is a strong and continuous element of fun in the story contributed largely by the steadily plodding Ern and the irrepressible Fatty. A healthy and enjoyable story." [2] The Morpeth Herald said, "Two runaways, a stolen picture, a little white poodle, and the Five Find-Outers and Dog on the job; these are the ingredients of this splendid yarn. In addition to a first-class mystery, there is also plenty of fun and hilarity." [3] Writing for Enid Blyton Society, Robert Houghton called the book a "fine tale, involving a stolen painting and its whereabouts". [1]
Greg Sheridan of The Australian said that a "distinct joy of literature" is when the reader surprisingly recognises themselves in a character. As an eight- or nine-year-old child, he was going over The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage and found himself in the boy Frederick Algernon Trotterville (FAT) who gets nicknamed Fatty. Fatty is arrogant and overweight, gluttonous and loquacious, so the other children initially disapprove of him. Sheridan wrote, "Even as a child, my natural shape resembled a potato. The idea that a smart-talking fatty could be a hero was terrifically appealing, perhaps the basis of the rest of my life." He continued, "Body-shaming, hate speech, stereotyping – every offence a children’s book could commit. And yet it’s also marvellously plotted and absorbing to read even today." [4]
The book's original manuscript was put up for auction by Hartleys Auctioneers in Ilkley in September 2010 and had an estimated value of between £300 and £500. [5] It had been in Blyton's daughter Gillian Baverstock's estate. [5] The manuscript included Blyton's handwritten statement that she typed her stories "straight out of my head" rather than penning them via hand. [6]
The Secret Seven or Secret Seven Society is a fictional group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton and based on the publisher's children. They appear in one of several adolescent detective series which Blyton wrote.
The Five Find-Outers and Dog, also known as The Five Find-Outers, is a series of children's mystery books written by Enid Blyton. The first was published in 1943 and the last in 1961. Set in the fictitious village of Peterswood based on Bourne End, close to Marlow, Buckinghamshire, the children Fatty, who is the leader of the team, Larry, Pip, Daisy, Bets and Buster, Fatty's dog, encounter a mystery almost every school holiday, always solving the puzzle before Mr Goon, the unpleasant village policeman, much to his annoyance.
The Mystery of Holly Lane is a 1953 children's mystery novel by English author Enid Blyton, and the eleventh book in the Five Find-Outers series.
Five Go Adventuring Again is the second book in the Famous Five series by the British author, Enid Blyton.
The Mystery of Banshee Towers by Enid Blyton is the last children's mystery novel in a series of fifteen known collectively as The Five Find-Outers and Dog. The series ran for eighteen years, from 1943 to 1961.
This is a list of 762 books by Enid Blyton (1897–1968), an English children's writer who also wrote under the pseudonym of Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the 20th century.
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief is a novel written by Enid Blyton. It is the eighth in the popular The Five Find-Outers children's mystery series. It was published in 1950.
The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters was the fourth book in Enid Blyton's The Five Find-Outers children's mystery series. The novel was published in 1946 by Methuen and illustrated by Joseph Abbey.
The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage is the first in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1943 and continues to be frequently reissued.
Five Have Plenty Of Fun is the 14th novel in The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1955 by Hodder & Stoughton.
Five Have a Mystery to Solve is the 20th novel in the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1962. As the penultimate novel in the Famous Five series, it follows the usual formula of finding secret passages, drinking ginger beer, hunting treasure, and foiling evil-doers.
The Mystery of the Missing Necklace — is a book in the series of Five Find-Outers children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton, published in 1947 by Methuen and illustrated by Joseph Abbey.
The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat (1944) is the second in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. It was published by Methuen and Co Ltd and follows the first book in the series, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage. It tells of a stolen cat the group of children work to uncover.
The Mystery of the Secret Room (1945) is the third in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. Illustrated by Joseph Abbey, it was published by Methuen.
The Mystery of the Hidden House is the sixth in the series of Five Find-Outers children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1948 by Methuen and was illustrated by Joseph Abbey.
The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat, published 1949, is the seventh novel in the Five Find-Outers children's mystery series written by Enid Blyton.
The Mystery of the Missing Man, published 1956, is the thirteenth novel in the children's mystery series The Five Find-Outers, written by Enid Blyton and originally illustrated by Lilian Buchanan.
The Mystery of the Vanished Prince, published 1951, is the ninth novel in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mysteries, written by Enid Blyton.
The Mystery of the Strange Messages is a children's mystery novel written by Enid Blyton and published in 1957. It is the fourteenth book in the Five Find-Outers series featuring Fatty, Pip, Larry, Daisy, Bets and Buster the Scottie dog, as well as Mr Goon and his nephew Ern.
The Mystery of the Strange Bundle is a children's mystery novel written by Enid Blyton and published in 1952. It is the tenth book of The Five Find-Outers series.
